Post Presser Thoughts

[callitwhatyouwant]

Just opening this up to what everyone thought or what you guys pulled out of it. First off, media needs to get better. We only have a couple teams in town and we can't ask sport specific questions? Do better STL. You guys asked the same round of questions to Thomas and Buchy that you did to the first group.

2nd, fans in youtube chat were some of the most toxic people I had seen when it comes to fandom. Season is over, you really want these players to say how much they suck and apologize. Go get a life. They don't owe you anything except maximum effort which they gave.

Real meat and potatoes. Monty said our 2 biggest needs to get better as a team is thru 6 on 5 which was obvious, and offense. I've been saying that since basically mid last year. This team's defense isn't it's biggest weakness. Might be it's biggest long term concern. But in the immediate future, when we lose it's due to offensive woes.

Fowler wants to be a Blue. And it sounds like Army wants to figure out how to get a Faksa extension and a Fowler extension. It didn't sound like he was ruling out the possibility of a 1 year for Suter because of the locker room influence.

Holloway did indeed get surgery. Was hilarious seeing some troll in the youtube chat say that Holloway needs to request a trade because he told the Blues he could play and they wouldn't let him be there. Guy required surgery, they didn't reveal what it was, but said he would be 100 percent ready for training camp because of it.

Also Krug donezo until he's not.

Doesn't sound like we will have a ton of action this offseason except lots of extensions. Broberg, Holloway, Fowler, Faksa, possibly Suter, all looking at an extension. DD is going to have to compete for a spot. I don't see us making any trades unless someone wants to take a flyer on Joseph or Texier. He basically alluded those guys are competing with the WTF line for time next year.

I do look for them to make 1 tweak to the offense if they are capable of it.

[a smell of green grass]

My take on the press conference.

- The interviewers would ask the same questions in the same way to a 5th-grade pom-pom squad that lost on the last pom-pom throw. Don't want to offend any girl/Mom is more important than getting answers that people want to know. It's BluesTalk on youtube. I can see now that I will never be out there firing questions.

- Love Cam Fowler. He is as intelligent, committed, and confident in the interview as he was on the ice. If they could somehow find a young Fowler, I would be the happiest guy in the world. If I'm going to lose a high draft pick because of a veteran that fixes holes, I'm glad it is Fowler.

- Love Binnington. He is as much St Louis as Toasted Ravioli. We need to get back to the Cup because we have a goalie gem.

- I thought that Schenn sounded like he knows that he won't be coming back. Kinda sad, but I hope that it is for the best for everyone. I can see where Schenn could be relied on for good kick in whoever's A___ was needed. I later noticed that Army didn't say that Schenn will be back as Captain. Schenn is gone.

- Monty/Army said that major planned success is getting 5% better in 2025/6 ?!!!! Wow, that's reassuring! On the comedy side, it does jive with my stance that there is not much difference in win % between the winningest and the losingest team. Make a note everyone. "Tanking" henceforth means getting about 10% worse.

- I want to see a small leash on Armstrong to avoid his big mistakes. Armstrong needs the tight leash a lot more than Bolduc.

- Armstrong is still selling his snake oil. He wants to be critiqued only about wins/losses, not the overall health of the roster. Can't believe that the interviewers let him skate that way. Next year, just ask him if we improved 5% on winning meaningless regular season games. So infuriating. Armstrong is who he is because the St Louis Media enables the sissified handling of our GM. I wish that I could tear into his hide.

- Per Armstrong, ratchet down your Dvorsky expectations, folks. He's looking more like Perunovich than Ovechkin now. Disappointing. The longer it takes for a player to make it to the NHL, the less of an impact he will have when/if he gets there.

[Frank Underwood]

Much appreciated (to the OP). Kind of interesting that they didn’t give details on the injuries, but I guess it doesn’t matter as long as they will be healthy. No mention of Tucker and his injury?

[Natl20]

My take on the press conference.

- The interviewers would ask the same questions in the same way to a 5th-grade pom-pom squad that lost on the last pom-pom throw. Don't want to offend any girl/Mom is more important than getting answers that people want to know. It's BluesTalk on youtube. I can see now that I will never be out there firing questions.

- Love Cam Fowler. He is as intelligent, committed, and confident in the interview as he was on the ice. If they could somehow find a young Fowler, I would be the happiest guy in the world. If I'm going to lose a high draft pick because of a veteran that fixes holes, I'm glad it is Fowler.

- Love Binnington. He is as much St Louis as Toasted Ravioli. We need to get back to the Cup because we have a goalie gem.

- I thought that Schenn sounded like he knows that he won't be coming back. Kinda sad, but I hope that it is for the best for everyone. I can see where Schenn could be relied on for good kick in whoever's A___ was needed. I later noticed that Army didn't say that Schenn will be back as Captain. Schenn is gone.

- Monty/Army said that major planned success is getting 5% better in 2025/6 ?!!!! Wow, that's reassuring! On the comedy side, it does jive with my stance that there is not much difference in win % between the winningest and the losingest team. Make a note everyone. "Tanking" henceforth means getting about 10% worse.

- I want to see a small leash on Armstrong to avoid his big mistakes. Armstrong needs the tight leash a lot more than Bolduc.

- Armstrong is still selling his snake oil. He wants to be critiqued only about wins/losses, not the overall health of the roster. Can't believe that the interviewers let him skate that way. Next year, just ask him if we improved 5% on winning meaningless regular season games. So infuriating. Armstrong is who he is because the St Louis Media enables the sissified handling of our GM. I wish that I could tear into his hide.

- Per Armstrong, ratchet down your Dvorsky expectations, folks. He's looking more like Perunovich than Ovechkin now. Disappointing. The longer it takes for a player to make it to the NHL, the less of an impact he will have when/if he gets there.

is this for real? after one game they determined this?

[carl racki]

My take on the press conference.

- The interviewers would ask the same questions in the same way to a 5th-grade pom-pom squad that lost on the last pom-pom throw. Don't want to offend any girl/Mom is more important than getting answers that people want to know. It's BluesTalk on youtube. I can see now that I will never be out there firing questions.

- Love Cam Fowler. He is as intelligent, committed, and confident in the interview as he was on the ice. If they could somehow find a young Fowler, I would be the happiest guy in the world. If I'm going to lose a high draft pick because of a veteran that fixes holes, I'm glad it is Fowler.

- Love Binnington. He is as much St Louis as Toasted Ravioli. We need to get back to the Cup because we have a goalie gem.

- I thought that Schenn sounded like he knows that he won't be coming back. Kinda sad, but I hope that it is for the best for everyone. I can see where Schenn could be relied on for good kick in whoever's A___ was needed. I later noticed that Army didn't say that Schenn will be back as Captain. Schenn is gone.

- Monty/Army said that major planned success is getting 5% better in 2025/6 ?!!!! Wow, that's reassuring! On the comedy side, it does jive with my stance that there is not much difference in win % between the winningest and the losingest team. Make a note everyone. "Tanking" henceforth means getting about 10% worse.

- I want to see a small leash on Armstrong to avoid his big mistakes. Armstrong needs the tight leash a lot more than Bolduc.

- Armstrong is still selling his snake oil. He wants to be critiqued only about wins/losses, not the overall health of the roster. Can't believe that the interviewers let him skate that way. Next year, just ask him if we improved 5% on winning meaningless regular season games. So infuriating. Armstrong is who he is because the St Louis Media enables the sissified handling of our GM. I wish that I could tear into his hide.

- Per Armstrong, ratchet down your Dvorsky expectations, folks. He's looking more like Perunovich than Ovechkin now. Disappointing. The longer it takes for a player to make it to the NHL, the less of an impact he will have when/if he gets there.

is this for real? after one game they determined this?

I'm sure it's just as real as Schenn not coming back as captain

[callitwhatyouwant]

Much appreciated (to the OP). Kind of interesting that they didn’t give details on the injuries, but I guess it doesn’t matter as long as they will be healthy. No mention of Tucker and his injury?

The tucker injury requires no surgery but he was going to be out all of playoffs.

[a smell of green grass]

is this for real? after one game they determined this?

Armstrong would never say it directly. I'm telling you what he said between the blue lines. My take. I hope that I am wrong.

[callitwhatyouwant]

Schenns not going anywhere. In fact he said Schenn is an amazing Captain who does all the right things. his quote was "he has maximum respect for him because the players have maximum respect."

Also there's a reason Kyrou went out there. They put the guys out there that they definitely have coming back or to shut up media. They did the same thing with Parayko after we got bounced from the Avs.

[a smell of green grass]

Notice how fast Armstrong stopped the questions when the topic of prospects came up?

Did you guys hear anything like:

- Wow, our prospects are going to improve our team
- I can't wait to see our prospects in the NHL
- Our 2C is going to be filled before the snow falls again.
- Lindstein is being fast-tracked to North America.

Nope. Nothing positive, folks!!!!! Not one thing at all

What we did hear...
- Stenberg noticed that he has to be play more games and travel more now than in Sweden.
- Dvorsky likely will go back to Springfield, kind of like Bolduc in that way.

I have no tolerance henceforth for anyone on BluesTalk saying that our prospects are going to solve anything, ever. This is ridiculous. Armstrong is a joke of GM.

[TBone]

Nope. Nothing positive, folks!!!!! Not one thing at all

STFUyou clown

Disclaimer: The video above is hosted on Youtube, and has not be reviewed by the staff of the Post-Dispatch.

[STL fan in MN]

I thought it was a good presser.

-Said Holloway had surgery but didn’t say exactly what it was but that he’d be ready for camp.

-Said Tucker’s injury was non-surgical in nature but that he would’ve been out for the entire playoffs.

-Both Army and Monty kept talking about the team getting 5% better. How we went from a 92 pt team last year to a 96 pt team this year and next year they need to do another 5%. Sounds like the internal goal is to be about a 100 pt team next season.

-Army talked of having already having a discussion with Faksa. Said a good team needs to retain good players. But also talked about having a number of guys coming up. Sounds like he’d like to re-sign Faksa but we’ll see.

-Fowler loves it here and found the system Monty uses fits his game to a T. Loves how Monty has the D play. Would absolutely be open to an extension.

-Said he doesn’t expect Krug to ever play again. Then gave the curtesy response that both he and Krug hope he’s wrong but that’s the expectation as of today.

-Said he was happy with Bolduc. Bolduc worked through some typical rookie mistakes but he was given a leash. That leash will get shorter next season and he won’t be afforded as many of those types of mistakes. Said that Snuggerud would have the sort of leash next season that Bolduc had this season.

-Said they’re looking to improve their 200 ft offensive game. Not sure if that means internally improve or bring someone else in. Probably both but obviously he doesn’t even know what all outside players will be available via trade or last to UFA status.

-Kerber asked him about Stenberg, Kaskimaki and Peterson. He praised all 3. Said Stenberg came in and did excellent for a 19 yr old in a man’s league. Said the pro schedule was eye opening for him as the travel just isn’t that intense in Sweden (which makes sense as a lot of the teams over there aren’t too far apart from each other). He really praised Kaskimaki. Basically said he’s one of his favorites. Compared him to Steen without the top offensive ability. Really likes Kaskimaki’s ability to understand the game. Said he could absolutely get games with the Blues next season if he does what he needs to (I took this to mean working on his game and doing his offseason training as he’s been instructed). He praised Peterson as well. Said Chris Thorburn has been in his corner from the beginning. Compared him to Torpo which I agree with. Said he’s a guy they could likely throw into the lineup and he likely wouldn’t look out of place. Kerbs then asked about Buchinger. Army tried to be polite and say it’s tough for a rookie d-man. Said the jury is still out on Buchinger. My take: Buchinger had a rough rookie season to the level that I now question if he has much of an NHL future. This summer and next season will be huge for him if he wants to make it.

[TheJackBurton]

My take on the press conference.

- The interviewers would ask the same questions in the same way to a 5th-grade pom-pom squad that lost on the last pom-pom throw. Don't want to offend any girl/Mom is more important than getting answers that people want to know. It's BluesTalk on youtube. I can see now that I will never be out there firing questions.

- Love Cam Fowler. He is as intelligent, committed, and confident in the interview as he was on the ice. If they could somehow find a young Fowler, I would be the happiest guy in the world. If I'm going to lose a high draft pick because of a veteran that fixes holes, I'm glad it is Fowler.

- Love Binnington. He is as much St Louis as Toasted Ravioli. We need to get back to the Cup because we have a goalie gem.

- I thought that Schenn sounded like he knows that he won't be coming back. Kinda sad, but I hope that it is for the best for everyone. I can see where Schenn could be relied on for good kick in whoever's A___ was needed. I later noticed that Army didn't say that Schenn will be back as Captain. Schenn is gone.

- Monty/Army said that major planned success is getting 5% better in 2025/6 ?!!!! Wow, that's reassuring! On the comedy side, it does jive with my stance that there is not much difference in win % between the winningest and the losingest team. Make a note everyone. "Tanking" henceforth means getting about 10% worse.

- I want to see a small leash on Armstrong to avoid his big mistakes. Armstrong needs the tight leash a lot more than Bolduc.

- Armstrong is still selling his snake oil. He wants to be critiqued only about wins/losses, not the overall health of the roster. Can't believe that the interviewers let him skate that way. Next year, just ask him if we improved 5% on winning meaningless regular season games. So infuriating. Armstrong is who he is because the St Louis Media enables the sissified handling of our GM. I wish that I could tear into his hide.

- Per Armstrong, ratchet down your Dvorsky expectations, folks. He's looking more like Perunovich than Ovechkin now. Disappointing. The longer it takes for a player to make it to the NHL, the less of an impact he will have when/if he gets there.

1) Absolutely no one has stated or expects him to be Ovechkin. Have no idea where you go that from. Comparing a 19 year old to one of the 50 greatest to ever play the game and the top goal scorer of all time is quite frankly ludicrous.

2) It isn't disappointing in the least bit that a 19 year old may not fully be ready to play in the NHL. Do you have any idea how uncommon it is for a 19 year old to be playing in the NHL?

3) If it takes another full season of him in the AHL to be fully ready then so be it.

4) Schenn isn't going anywhere.

5) Other than a few tweaks this is the one of the most talented rosters Army has put together

6) When it was done you said Cam Fowler was a huge mistake and that you hated giving up a 2nd round pick for him

7) A 5% improvement likely gets them either the 1st wildcard or to the #3 seed in the Central and those are huge strides.

Other than those points, you at least typed some analysis.

[TBone]

I thought it was a good presser.

-Said Holloway had surgery but didn’t say exactly what it was but that he’d be ready for camp.

-Said Tucker’s injury was non-surgical in nature but that he would’ve been out for the entire playoffs.

-Both Army and Monty kept talking about the team getting 5% better. How we went from a 92 pt team last year to a 96 pt team this year and next year they need to do another 5%. Sounds like the internal goal is to be about a 100 pt team next season.

-Army talked of having already having a discussion with Faksa. Said a good team needs to retain good players. But also talked about having a number of guys coming up. Sounds like he’d like to re-sign Faksa but we’ll see.

-Fowler loves it here and found the system Monty uses fits his game to a T. Loves how Monty has the D play. Would absolutely be open to an extension.

-Said he doesn’t expect Krug to ever play again. Then gave the curtesy response that both he and Krug hope he’s wrong but that’s the expectation as of today.

-Said he was happy with Bolduc. Bolduc worked through some typical rookie mistakes but he was given a leash. That leash will get shorter next season and he won’t be afforded as many of those types of mistakes. Said that Snuggerud would have the sort of leash next season that Bolduc had this season.

-Said they’re looking to improve their 200 ft offensive game. Not sure if that means internally improve or bring someone else in. Probably both but obviously he doesn’t even know what all outside players will be available via trade or last to UFA status.

-Kerber asked him about Stenberg, Kaskimaki and Peterson. He praised all 3. Said Stenberg came in and did excellent for a 19 yr old in a man’s league. Said the pro schedule was eye opening for him as the travel just isn’t that intense in Sweden (which makes sense as a lot of the teams over there aren’t too far apart from each other). He really praised Kaskimaki. Basically said he’s one of his favorites. Compared him to Steen without the top offensive ability. Really likes Kaskimaki’s ability to understand the game. Said he could absolutely get games with the Blues next season if he does what he needs to (I took this to mean working on his game and doing his offseason training as he’s been instructed). He praised Peterson as well. Said Chris Thorburn has been in his corner from the beginning. Compared him to Torpo which I agree with. Said he’s a guy they could likely throw into the lineup and he likely wouldn’t look out of place. Kerbs then asked about Buchinger. Army tried to be polite and say it’s tough for a rookie d-man. Said the jury is still out on Buchinger. My take: Buchinger had a rough rookie season to the level that I now question if he has much of an NHL future. This summer and next season will be huge for him if he wants to make it.

Outstanding summary of what was said.

Armstrong also noted how Alexander Steen will be ready for the job a year from now and how he appreciated Tom Stillman's foresight in giving Steen a long runway before assuming the job.

Has Armstong talked about what he intends to do after this? He said he loves the job and didn't sound like someone who really wants to leave.

[succinct712]

Notice how fast Armstrong stopped the questions when the topic of prospects came up?

Did you guys hear anything like:

- Wow, our prospects are going to improve our team
- I can't wait to see our prospects in the NHL
- Our 2C is going to be filled before the snow falls again.
- Lindstein is being fast-tracked to North America.

Nope. Nothing positive, folks!!!!! Not one thing at all

What we did hear...
- Stenberg noticed that he has to be play more games and travel more now than in Sweden.
- Dvorsky likely will go back to Springfield, kind of like Bolduc in that way.

I have no tolerance henceforth for anyone on BluesTalk saying that our prospects are going to solve anything, ever. This is ridiculous. Armstrong is a joke of GM.

Yes, St. Louis Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong is retiring, but not immediately. He's stepping down as GM after the 2025-26 NHL season but will remain with the team as the President of Hockey Operations. Alexander Steen, a former Blues player, will take over as the new General Manager.
Here's a more detailed explanation:
Succession Plan:
The Blues announced a succession plan where Doug Armstrong will step down as General Manager after the 2025-26 season.
New Role:
Armstrong will transition to the role of President of Hockey Operations, continuing to be involved with the team's operations.
Steen's Promotion:
Alexander Steen, who recently retired as a player, will become the new General Manager in 2026.
Armstrong's Extension:
Armstrong has also signed a contract extension to remain with the Blues as President of Hockey Operations through the 2028-29 season.

[BluesDom]

Here is the takeaway in life and on this forum. Dont get your information from here (or from any news without doing more research.)
Listen to the coach and the GM and make up your own mind. Most of what I read in the comments is totally opinion based and wasnt discussed.
The below are my observations--This is what I heard:
Faksa--It hasnt been determined yet. They also arent sure what Faksa wants to do. GM did speak with him a bit. Wants to talk to Scouts Steen etc first.
Fowler--He's under contract for next year. No mention of extension. Hes a good fit. Good guy. Has been awesome.
Armstrong is keeping what hes doing secret.
We are competing next year. Retool is over. Young guys will have to earn a spot. Not interested in failing the young players. Wants to put them in a position to succeed.
No rush to extend Broberg and Holloway--but hes not opposed to talking. Its tbd.
If Dalibor wants to make the team--He's gonna have to have a good camp. Nothing will be handed to him.
Bolduc will be on a shorter leash next year.
Snuggy will be in a similar spot as Bolduc this year regarding his leash.
GM like his top 4 on D. Likes his goalies. May want another 200 foot scorer. He will see what he can do. Not sure what he can do. Time will tell.
Wounds are fresh. Needs time to process. 5-10 minute easy going interviews will happen. Later in summer real player interviews will happen--Wants all players to have good summers get 5% better next year.

Please dont react to anything read on here. Dont take anything as fact. Listen for yourself. Dont play the telephone game.

[dhsux]

Not going to argue with Army about it ever so if he says offense is number #1 issue (for the now) and he wants a 101-102 point season seems to me he trades for a true #2 center and DD slides to wing if and when he comes up.

For the Blues to make those point goals neither Schenn or DD are their best option at 2C, imo.

Prospects would be moved to acquire such a player.